The Greatest Oddity in Hollywood
Riley knew that Brando was universally hailed as “the greatest actor of all time;” it was something he instinctively understood, having seen him in The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, and Apocalypse Now. Most people who have seen him in movies will give him a collective thumbs-up. But then there are the rather negative tabloid headlines (many from the UK), which reduced the actor to a “circus oddity,” as Riley put it.
Marlon Brando in The Godfather. Photo by Paramount / Kobal / Shutterstock
Brando was labeled “elusive” and “eccentric.” He was deemed difficult to control, and, with time, he became ostracized by Hollywood as a rebel with an addictive personality. He had the reputation of a heartless womanizer, leaving numerous broken hearts and suicides behind him.